Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad
by Schmendrick the Demented
Summary: Another one of my Songfics folks.


Pre-story rant:  Okay so I'm taking a much needed break from my other stories and doing one-shots.  Their too much fun and offer way too much freedom.  So here's the next installment.  Sorry Ayeka fans I'm not very nice to her in this one.  No she's not the raving bitch princess, but she isn't happy.  Standard formula for me, so strong she can survive life after Tenchi.  Uhm, what more can I say?  Noboyuki makes a speaking appearance and Washu has toned down from the last fic.  Thanks to all my betas you guys are really the greatest.  Well enough jabbering and on with the fic.  

Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad?

…Another night spent with Ryoko staring up at the stars.  Heaving a great sigh, Ryoko reclined back on the roof.  Silently looking up at the night sky, Ryoko closed her eyes and thought of Tenchi.  Slowly, a faint, Mona Lisa smile drifted to her lips.  _Yes, someday he will be mine.  __But how long until he comes around to the idea?  Another great sigh forced its way into the night air.  __Better get to bed, gotta be nice and sexy for him in the morning.    Ryoko fazed into her bedroom, forsaking the comfort that guarding Tenchi provided._

**_Here I am, I'm in the wrong bed again_**

First trying to rest in her bed, Ryoko quickly gave that up after a full twenty minutes of tossing and turning.  Finally vaulting out of bed with more force than she had intended, Ryoko stumbled across her room.  Not quite comfortable, she drifted around the room for nearly an hour before giving up.  _If I get out of his room before he wakes, he'll never know I'm there!  Now, the real trick to the whole thing was to remember to leave.  Leaving Tenchi in the morning and not being there to watch him wake was so very difficult.  _

**_It's a game I just can't win_**

Sighing, Ryoko settled for the slight comfort of watching him.  _Only watching him.  The last time she had gotten into bed with him, he had gone completely ballistic (not to mention Ayeka).  Ryoko chuckled.   The princess had arrived just in time to see a half naked Tenchi struggling to extricate himself from a sleeping, clinging, also very much half naked Ryoko. Ayeka had turned a darker shade of purple than her hair._

Another sigh as the rest of the memory played out in Ryoko's mind.  Tenchi had been so furious he had backed away from her for fear of his possible actions.  Finally feeling composed, Tenchi turned on his heel and muttering a vicious, "My love isn't something you can steal!  If you really wanted it, you'd try and earn it!  How can you expect me to love someone when all they do is…this!?"  Tenchi had said as he waved accusatory hands at the shambled bed.  "Why can't you just leave me alone!?"  The words had come out in a rushed shout.

****

****

It was that remembered rushed shout that had shattered Ryoko's resolve.  _Maybe I just wasn't meant to be with him? Shaking the questions and doubts from her mind, Ryoko phased into Tenchi's room.  Hovering over his bed, within a hair's breadth of his face, Ryoko closed her eyes and imagined herself resting her head on his chest.  His soft, steady breathing rustled her hair and caressed her forehead.  _

**_There you are breathing soft on my skin_**

_He'd __kill me if he woke up right now.  Putting aside her fears, Ryoko reveled in the overwhelming sensorial buffet.  The faintly spicy scent of his skin, the masculine fragrance of sandalwood and forests assailed her.  The sound of his gentle yet steady breathing lulled her into a peaceful daze. Hovering at the precipice of sleep, Ryoko's mind continued to wander.  The heat from his sleeping body soothed her with a feeling of comforting safety.  __If simply being near him makes me feel like this, I wonder how safe I'd feel in his arms?  _

As memories supplied information of countless instances in which she had been encased in his embrace, Ryoko mentally modified the question.  _I wonder how safe I'd feel in his arms if he wanted to hold me?  Ryoko lifted her eyes to look at his face.  If __only he wanted me...Things would be so different.  Hoping to steal a kiss, Ryoko slowly drifted closer to him.  Lips only moments from meeting Ryoko held her breath as possible outcomes flashed past her closed lids.  _

_What if he wakes up?  __He'd never forgive me then.  Negative thoughts and scenarios played out before her eyes.  Tenchi exiling her from his home.  Tenchi angered beyond rational thought.  Tenchi angry enough to hit her.  __No he would never do that.  Tenchi wouldn't know how to raise a hand to one of us.  Sighing with resignation, Ryoko knew if Tenchi were to wake, the consequences of her actions would be dire.  __Would this one stolen kiss be worth it?_

**_Still you won't let me in_**

_Wouldn't it be great if he didn't hate me?  If he liked it and admitted his love for me?  __Yeah, that'll happen someday soon!  __Right around the same time Washu gives up computers for cartoons and Ayeka takes up prostitution.  Ryoko's eyes flashed open as the ridiculous idea of Ayeka strutting around in clothes most unbecoming of the First Princess of Jurai.  Then the image of Ayeka attempting to peddle her wares in the more seedy sides of the Juraian empire, looking lost, hoping to acquire enough fare to catch the first intergalactic freighter back to Earth almost caused Ryoko to burst out with laughter.  If it hadn't been for Tenchi's sleepy grumble, she just might have.  Turning her attention back to Tenchi, Ryoko resume her previously abandoned activity._

**_Why save your kisses for a rainy day_**

Gathering her pride and her courage, Ryoko quietly hissed in a breath of air.  Then gently placed her lips to his.  Softly brushing her lips to his, Ryoko delighted in the tingling sensations that ran rampant through her body.  Ryoko still remained hovering over Tenchi, her body so close that moonlight was barely visible between the pair.  But as the kiss wore on, Ryoko's hands gently drifted down to his chest with a will of their own.  With a silent moan, Ryoko pressed her lips further onto his, still content with nothing more than the silken caress.  

**_Baby, let the moment take your heart away_**

It was the sleeping Tenchi that deepened the kiss.  A muffled groan was all the warning Ryoko was given. Then immediately, Tenchi's arms wrapped around Ryoko and pressed her body fully into his.  One hand burying itself deeply in her mane, the other desperately clinging to her waist as his embrace molded her body to his.  His head lifted slightly from the pillow to deepen the kiss.  Lips parted and, on a mutual sigh, tongues met.  Passion flared white hot, burning the pair with a scorching need.  Ryoko's hands refused to remain inactive, moving now, completely on auto-pilot, they drifted to caress his face and then trace light circling patterns down his body.

Seconds dragged on as the barely contained passion flashed to a fevered pitch.  Tenchi rolled from his back to pin Ryoko beneath him.  Ryoko issued another sensual moan into his mouth as his lips continued to claim hers.  Aroused by the luscious sounds, Tenchi raised the stakes of the kiss.  The hand that had previously been clinging to Ryoko's waist, now that she was pinned beneath him, was free to roam his entire reach of her body. From knee to face Tenchi softly ghosted his hand across her skin, causing shivers of excitement and goose bumps to cover her skin.

****

Ryoko could not stop moaning into Tenchi's lips.  His body pressed so close to hers felt like heaven.  His hand, now caressing the tender skin at the side of her waist, sent shockwaves of sensation through her body.  But, despite everything else, it was the insistent and passionate kiss that left her incapable of thought and craving more.  Yes, this was a side of Tenchi that she could easily get use to. 

**_Have you ever needed someone so bad_**

And with each moan that rose from Ryoko's throat and passed through tremulous lips to Tenchi's hungrily devouring mouth, Tenchi's desire rose on smoldering wings.  Lost in his own fantasies Tenchi, clung to his dream lover.  Her moans of passion enflamed him, burning him with escalating rapture.  His dream progressed and became far more detailed than he could ever remember.  The exact feel and shape of her every curve seemed to fit into his hands perfectly.  

Tenchi's dream progressed and, as he lost himself further into the kiss, his imaginary world offered him a scenario that he dreaded more than anything else in his life at that moment.  For some reason in his dream world, Tenchi had heard the faint creak of the floor boards as silent feet shuffled across to his bedroom door.  And just like every other time before, the dream was ending exactly the same.  Tenchi slowly, reluctantly removing his lips from his love, to turn and look at the heart-broken face standing at his doorway.

"Ayeka..."

The whispered word cruelly tore Ryoko from her lustful haze.  Tenchi was still asleep it seemed, lost in some sort of internal battle.  Brows furrowed in pain, Ryoko looked up at Tenchi's face.  The expression written on his still sleeping face brought tears to her eyes.  He seemed, to her eyes at least, to be lost in the stirrings of desire.  Swallowing her sobs and silently phasing from his room, Ryoko faded from view just as Tenchi's eyes drifted open.

**_Have you ever wanted someone, you just couldn't have_**

Up on the roof sheltered in the protective arms of the night and hidden from the prying eyes of the rest of the family, Ryoko cried.  Silent, fat tears traced lonesome trails down her cheeks.  _Ayeka...He loved Ayeka.  All this time I thought I could win...Thought I had won?  How could he love her?  Resignation swirled with despair pulling the cyan-haired enchantress further into a tearful sadness.  Thoughts of rejection and loneliness pulled more tears from the fragile soul.  _

_In hindsight, maybe I should have seen it?  Instances of past kindness and gentle touches fueled her imagination.  __Yeah, it was there all along.  I just didn't want to see it.  Acceptance weighted Ryoko's heart down further into depression. _

Then, after lost moments slipped silently into hours, Ryoko's tears dried and her determination returned.  _Dreams aren't the real thing.  Until he tells me I'm not the one,... Then I'll just keep going.  Yeah, I can do it.  I can win his heart back._

_Win his heart back?  How can I win something back that was never mine to begin with?  And just as swiftly as hope had taken flight, cruel cynicism clipped its wings.  __Why would he love me?  Again fueled by faint flashes of memories and isolated incidences, Ryoko's imagination conjured up moments of Tenchi's obvious distaste of her.  __Nope. There was no reason to hope for his love.  _

**_Did you ever try so hard_**

****

_What could I have done?  Was there anything I could have done?  I did everything I could think of?  I'd die for him...I'd kill for him.  What should I have done?  Doubt after doubt tumbled through her mind.  Racing on a circular track, Ryoko's brain began to pound in pain with the weight of her thoughts._

Faintly, beneath the raucous noise of the cruel harpies of doubt, a voice that sounded something like Sasami's answered the damning questions with another question.  _Did you ever want him to be happy? _

Not thinking about the ramifications of another's voice in her thoughts, but instead concentrating on the question posed, Ryoko replied.  _Of course I have, he was suppose to be happy with me!!  With me...with me...  As the words echoed through her mind, the unyielding selfishness of the words locked her mind and froze her body.  _

**_Let your world just fall apart_**

****

The same memory that had nearly stopped her from kissing Tenchi flared to the front of her mind.  _Was that what he had meant?  Closing her eyes and crying even harder than before Ryoko felt trapped by her previous actions.  Then, as tears subsided once again into a light cascade of diamond-like dew drops and sobs hushed to delicate hiccups, Ryoko slipped into the welcoming, yet unsought arms of Morpheus as the sun began to crest the horizon._

From her lab Washu had monitored the entire scene.  She cheered when Ryoko had built up the courage to kiss him.  She had waited with bated breath for Tenchi's sleeping reaction.  And she had been prepared to turn Tenchi into a water sprite when he had said Ayeka's name.  It had been her first instinct to go to Ryoko and cradle the crying woman in her arms.  Ryoko looked so broken in those moments before sunrise.  It had taken every last ounce of Washu's rarely used restraint to remain in the lab and outside of her daughter's thoughts.

Privacy, a rather difficult concept for Washu to grasp when attached to people other than herself, was what her daughter now needed.  And if space and alone time was what Ryoko needed, then that was what she would get.  Placing an invisible barrier around the roof and at all entrances to the roof, Washu made sure no one would be able to disturb her daughter's tearful lament.

It had torn Washu's heart to pieces to silently and passively watch her daughter's world implode.   As Ryoko's hopes and dreams shattered with the solitary word, Washu hoped that her calculations and predictions about Tenchi weren't wrong and this whole situation was just a terrible misunderstanding.  Washu had known, almost from the moment she had entered the household, about her daughter's hold on Tenchi's heart.  No, Washu was certain her calculations had been correct, Tenchi loved Ryoko.  He just had some issues he had to deal with first, namely, the rest of the family.

**_Have you ever needed someone so bad_**

Tenchi had awoken from his dream with his body still on fire with passion and his mind wildly racing.  Tenchi sat up and looked down at his hands.  _I can still feel her... She was so real this time.  Sighing, Tenchi closed his eyes, trying to regain the last traces of the dream.  Tenchi darted his tongue across dry lips as his imagination supplied the feel of her lips against his.  A frustrated moan passed his lips as his body reminded him of the feel of her body pressed beneath his.  _

**_And you're the girl I gotta have_**

****

Knowing that he was just torturing himself, Tenchi rose from bed and left for the kitchen.  Shaking his head and trying to clear the last lingering traces of lust from his mind, Tenchi descended the stairs.  _What am I going to do?  The dreams are getting worse.  Even I'm not dense enough to not get the message on this one.  He felt trapped.  Trapped by the emotions of his family, trapped by his emotions, trapped by circumstance, trapped by expectations, trapped by the hopes and desires of everyone around him.  He just felt trapped._

Since the beginning of the dreams, Tenchi had surmised what his subconscious was trying to tell him.  It had taken months for him to begrudgingly accept the message, though.  And once he had accepted what his heart had been screaming at him through his dreams, the dreams had grown bolder.  Now, every moment spent around her put him immediately on alert.  Painfully aware of her every movement around him, his secreted longings was driving him to the brink of madness.  

I gotta have you baby 

His awareness of her made him feel awkward and angry with himself.  His unwillingness to injure anyone else clamped one soulful confession after another deep within his throat.  As Tenchi tried dealing with his emotions, he found that redirected anger easily disguised desire.  Tenchi shielded his desire for her beneath the anger of pent-up emotions and missed opportunities.  During the day and around others it was easy to push her away.  During the day it was easy to blame her for his frustrations and anxieties.  

**_There you go, midnight promises again_**

But at night during his dreams, he couldn't hide from his heart.  Every dream started the same: she would come to him while he slept.  Hovering over his bed, she would do nothing more than watch him sleep. Then, as if awoken by her desires, Tenchi would open his eyes to look at her face.  She would be startled by his sudden awakening and, for a moment, her innocence would be written on her face.  But she would quickly recover and, in true form, her voice would become soft and husky with a seductive lilt as she asked him about his dreams.  Golden eyes would become molten with the heat of her lustful gaze.  Graceful fingers would slowly trace scorching trails across his chest.  

Then, as his breathing sped until he was nearly panting, her face would move towards his.  The predatory gaze would fill his vision and her heated breath would blend with his as their mouths hovered mere millimeters from touching.  Then just before her lips descended upon his, he would watch the momentary flicker of doubt shade her eyes dark amber.  Then he would be unable to think, unable to breath, unable to do anything but respond to the siren's call of Ryoko's kiss.  

In every dream, it never took very long for passion to quickly engulf the pair in an inferno of desire.  Every caress, every moan pushed the pair further into lustful ecstasy.  Soon, he was lost in the touch and feel of her.  Body soft and yielding to his every desire, Tenchi would continue greedily kissing her.

And at the pinnacle of desire, when he was so driven by lustful craving that consequences were easily forgotten,... Then in that moment, he would break away for a breath and turn his head to the slight creak at his bedroom door.  And just like with every other dream, he would open passion-hazed eyes to the tear-stained face of a broken princess.

But they're broken by the dawn 

And just like every night for the past few months, he would wake in a cold sweat, alone in his room.  Too aroused to even attempt sleep, but too exhausted to begin his day, Tenchi would meander around the house until the urge to start his day took over.  Leaning against the counter while he finished his tea, Tenchi pondered his situation.  Somehow this needed to end.  Otherwise, he would die in frustrated silence.

Finishing his tea and cleaning his used dishes, Tenchi returned to his bedroom.  Heaving yet another great sigh, Tenchi entered his lonely room.  Looking around the room, Tenchi wondered if Ryoko was hiding somewhere in the shadows.  Shaking his head as he approached the bed, Tenchi knew the answer to that question.  _No, she wouldn't be here.  Not after that last time.  Not after the way I yelled at her.  Kami, why can't this make any sense?  Why did they both have to fall in love with me?  And why did it ever take me so long to see what was right in front of my face all along?_

Lying down, more confused than he was before he had gone to bed, Tenchi tried to return to a dreamless sleep.  But again the haunting dream returned.  And just as in all the previous dreams, passion quickly flared to the flash point.  He felt on fire; her kisses the fuel and her body the steady wind that stoked the flames higher. 

You wanna go further, faster every day baby 

****

Tenchi's dream Ryoko pushed the stakes higher and higher.  Clothing was quickly shed and the slick pressure of her sweat-slicked body above his was driving him to madness.  The dream raced faster and further than it ever had before.  Tenchi rolled her to her back and pressed her into the cushion of his futon.  His body tense from the exertion his waning control was exercising.  Tenchi needed this moment, the completion and the promise of devotion that it offered.  His body demanded the burgeoning moment of absolution.

But in the morning you'll be gone 

Certain his sanity would be lost, Tenchi tried desperately to ignore the familiar sound of faint, delicate footfall.  The hallmark of the princess, she would open his door soon and again he would awaken, frustrated and sullen.   And just as the only coherent portion of his brain had predicted, the princess had opened the door the tiniest of cracks; enough for her to clearly see what was happening inside the room and enough for him to clearly see her shattered face.  With the lone glance at the tear filled eyes, Tenchi woke with a violent start.  Snapping his head from left to right, Tenchi looked around his room, hoping against hope to see Ryoko's seductive form hidden within the shadows of his room.

**_And I'm alone_**

  Sighing with resignation, Tenchi knew he would have to resolve the situation as his dreams gave him no respite.  Even now, his daydreams were becoming increasingly more risqué.  Sooner, rather than later, he would have to address her.  First, he would tell Ryoko how he felt.  Then somehow, someway he would attend to Ayeka.

Ayeka… The name repeated monotonously through his mind.  The endless cycle droned on with the cadence of a drum.  Pain lanced at his heart; her friendship was dear to him and as precious to him as his love for Ryoko.  Hurting Ayeka was something he dreaded with every fiber of his being, but his soul could no longer remain in the stalemate of indecision.  The pain of self-denial was rapidly becoming more than he could stand.  Yet, in spite of the pain, frustration and self-doubt, Ayeka's name continued its relentless beat through his mind.

Ayeka…Ayeka…Ayeka…Ayeka…Ayeka…

Ayeka.

**_Why save your kisses for a rainy day_**

****

Down the stairs and across the hall, Ayeka found herself lovingly sheltered in the warmth of Tenchi's embrace.  She sighed with contentment.  _He's here, holding me…Loving me…Wanting me.  She turned her head to get a better view of his face, her lips lifting in an unconsciously seductive offer.  An offer, which he gladly accepted.  Petal-soft lips parted in a moan of surrender.  __Gladly, for him… I will give up everything.  The throne…the power…Jurai itself, for him.  Ayeka's eyes fluttered to hide the devotion shining deep within their ruby depths, behind the sweep of midnight black lashes.  _

She would give her life and more for him.  His love and his happiness were primary goals for her.  She was slowly learning from Sasami how to cook and from Mihoshi the value of patience.  From Washu the value and importance of even the smallest things around her.  From Ryo-ohki she was learning the value of small victories and simple pleasures.  Whether they be in the form of winning in mortal combat against the vengeful foe in the form of a sliding glass door, or the simple joy of laying eyes on the largest carrot ever created on Earth.

From Ryoko she learned to enjoy life; to find life and excitement in even the most insignificant of objects and the most trivial of moments.  At the thought of her rival and unabashedly devoted friend, Ayeka began to pull away from the kiss.  _Could she do this Ryoko?  Break her heart this way?  Take Tenchi away?  From deep within herself, Ayeka felt the old hatred and rivalry rise to squelch the doubts._

_Of course she could do this!  Ayeka pushed further into the kiss.  __This was no less that what the pirate planned for herself!  Why shouldn't she have his heart?  She was, after all, the First Crown Princess of the entire Juraian Empire and she deserved to receive everything she wanted.  But Tenchi was not a thing and Ryoko was no longer a pirate.  Again, nagging doubt tugged at the edge of her consciousness, pulling her away from the intensity of the kiss._

**_Baby let the moment take you heart away_**

****

_But what if he does love you?  Pushing aside her fears and her doubts, Ayeka deepened the kiss.  Placing her whole heart and soul into the kiss, Ayeka felt near swooning from the sheer ferocity of the kiss.  Mouths veraciously devoured exposed skin as the royal couple descended further into sensual ecstasy.  Lost in the gentle caresses and teasing hands, Ayeka was nearly brought to tears of loss when the door rattled with the familiar knocking of Sasami's morning rounds._

**_Have you ever needed someone so bad_**

****

Ayeka prepared for her day.  Morning ritual an ingrained part of her personality: bed, bath, teeth, hair, clothes, all were part of her daily ceremony.  Cheeks a brighter shade of pink than normal due to the explicit dream, Ayeka floated down the stairs towards the dinning room with a peaceful, winsome air about her.  

Breakfast was an unusually subdued affair.  Ryoko, exhausted from her tears and uncertainties, was oddly mute and pensive.  While Ayeka invigorated from her stimulating dream was animated and lively.  The meal was eaten with everyone but Ryoko, Washu, Ryo-ohki and Ayeka dreading the inevitable nuclear fallout.  

When the meal was finally finished Tenchi decided to take the first step.  Swallowing his fears, Tenchi turned to Ayeka as she rose from the table.  "Miss Ayeka, would you kindly join me on a walk to Funaho later today?"  Tenchi questioned hesitantly.  The remaining assembled family members heads snapped to attention.  _Had Tenchi made a decision?_

Have you ever wanted someone 

****

Ayeka stammered a shy, "Ye-ye-yesssss.  Lo-l-l-lord Tenchi."  _Was this it?  __Was this finally it?_

"Thank you, I will meet you at the front door by two o'clock?"  Unsure of himself, Tenchi questioned.

Ayeka gave a slight nod; her eyes frozen completely wide open.  Shock and a slowly rising joy, rooted her motionless.  No one but the cabbit noticed the fading image of Ryoko disappear from the room with soundless tears of heartache.  Ryoko had known something like this was going to happen; had secretly waited in terrorized dismay for the moment when he would finally confirm all her darkest self-doubts.  

You just couldn't have 

From her isolated vantage point within the enshrouding arms of her favorite sakura tree, Ryoko's thoughts wandered.  She couldn't blame him really.  If she had been in his places, she would have chosen the regal and refined princess over the crude, obnoxious, outspoken, embarrassing, menacing, disastrous, failure of a pirate.

_Well, no one could say that I didn't give it my best shot?  Huh, Ryo-ohki?  Ryoko telepathically questioned the caring companion as she tenderly stroked the cabbit's fur.   Her only reply was a soft miya and a purr as Ryoko scratched that really hard to reach spot behind Ryo-ohki's right ear._

****

Ryoko felt the tears well up in her eyes again_.  I can do this!  I can let go of him!  He was never mine to begin with.  Never mine…  __Huh, I guess I've never had anything of my own.  Not love, not life, not a mind.  The disgruntled miya that answered her back drew Ryoko from her depression__.  Yeah, I guess you're right.  I've always had you.  Okay, okay and Washu too.  But you're both family.  You sort of have to love me.  I was really hoping he could love me just for me.  Ya' know?  Again Ryo-ohki miyaed her agreement, she understood all right.  Better than anyone else and more than Ryoko gave her credit for, she understood.  But how to explain the feelings of jealousy and anger that she felt towards both Tenchi and Ryoko.  When Ryo-ohki wanted time with Tenchi, Ryoko was always there.  And when Ryo-ohki craved attention from Ryoko, her longtime companion was usually embroiled in a battle over the aforementioned youngest male Masaki.  How did she explain emotions that she herself barely understood? _

Sometimes the cabbit would long for the simpler days under Kagato's reign.  Friendship was simple.  She loved Ryoko and Ryoko loved her.  There was no one else to worry about.  No Tenchi, no Mihoshi, no Washu and definitely no Sasami.  Now things seemed so terribly complicated to the little cabbit.  

Ryoko loves Tenchi, Tenchi loves Ayeka, Ayeka loves Tenchi.  Mihoshi loves everyone, as does Sasami.  Sasami has a secret crush for Tenchi as does Mihoshi.  Washu loves Ryoko but doesn't know how to show it.  Ryoko loves Washu but is afraid to show it.  Ayeka cares for Ryoko but refuses to show it.  Ryoko loves everyone but is too scarred to show it.  Simply thinking about the tangled spider's web of crisscrossing bonds that bound the family was enough to give Ryo-ohki a headache.  

Willing her mind to ignore the jumble of relationships, Ryo-ohki concentrated on comforting her again tearfully lamenting friend.  Looking up at the sky, Ryo-ohki noted from the sun's position in the sky Tenchi and Ayeka should be out on their walk.  It had been a surprisingly wise move on Ryoko's part to select a tree far removed from the lake and instead one that was almost too close for comfort to the cave.  Nestling further into her friend's stomach and trying to radiate nothing but soothing calm, Ryo-ohki tried to telepathically lull Ryoko to sleep.  And by the time Tenchi and Ayeka were ambling slowly towards the majestic trunk of Funaho, Ryoko was fast asleep in a Washu induced dreamless slumber.

The pair arrived at the base of Funaho and Tenchi indicated for Ayeka to sit on an inviting root, while he remained standing.  Tenchi began pacing the short distance from the trunk of the tree to the edge of the little island before he gained enough courage to speak.  Closing his eyes and swallowing his trepidation, Tenchi began the speech he had rehearsed most of the morning.

Did you ever try so hard 

"Ayeka, I brought you here today to tell you something important.  Something that I know will change not only our lives, but also the lives of our entire family.  I've noticed that recently I've been having feelings, feelings that aren't strictly about friendship.  Feelings that are vastly different from how I feel for the rest of you girls.  One of you has finally won my heart and I wanted the opportunity to tell each of you individually whom that person was."  Tenchi inhaled deeply to replenish his deficient air supply.  Then he exhaled in a great-dejected whoosh of air as he opened his eyes to see what type of reaction his words were having.

Ayeka's timid smile diminished as she watched the tensely nervous Tenchi pace before her.  As Tenchi continued to not speak to her, Ayeka's timidity turned swiftly to fear.  Then, after what felt like years, Tenchi spoke and his words changed her emotions from fear to resignation.  And when he finally opened his eyes after his little speech to observe her, she knew.  He didn't love her.

Let your world just fall apart 

****

Hollow.  That was exactly how she felt when she looked into his eyes.  Painfully, desperately, depressingly hollow.  Ayeka tried to ignore the dull ache that threatened to spread through her soul and destroy everything that she was.  Struggling, Ayeka swallowed her pain and hid her longing behind her "big sister" mask.  _I can do this.  For Tenchi, I can do this.  I will do this.  I will let him go.  Though this is the hardest thing I will ever do in my life…I will let him go.  _

**_Have you ever needed someone so bad_**

Rising calmly from her seated position, Ayeka willed Tenchi to finish his declaration.  Nodding her head for him to continue with his speech, Ayeka steeled her heart against the pain.  "It pains me greatly, Miss Ayeka, to have to tell you something that I know will hurt you, but there is honor and kindness in the truth that will never be present in a silent lie."  Sucking in his breath, Tenchi clenched his eyes in order to finish his next statement.  "Miss Ayeka, I love Ryoko."

During his quiet build up, Ayeka began to daydream of an alternate situation where he was confession his love for her and not for someone else.  But the honesty of his declaration, "…I love Ryoko." Quickly and easily pulled her from her daydream to reality.  No, she was back in the real world.  Back to the pain of defeat, but could she really call it defeat?

Had he really had a choice in the matter other than to end it with one hurt and the other rejoicing?  He was not to blame for the situation.  No, his indecisiveness was not the culprit either, but instead the constant battling.  Both Ryoko and she were equally to blame for the pain of the loser, for it had been their own competitive natures, which had led to this outcome.

_Ryoko.  What must she be thinking?  __Tenchi had come to me first not Ryoko!  Ryoko must be going through the exact same feelings that I'm feeling!  For a moment Ayeka allowed her pain to be forgotten in the wave of concern for her once rival, now friend.  If Tenchi could not be happy with herself, Ayeka knew that at the very least he would be safe and happy with Ryoko.  _

Swallowing the lump of pain that was threatening to choke her words, Ayeka lifted her head and spoke in her "Big Sister" voice that she reserved for Sasami and Mihoshi.  "Lord Tenchi, I am most grateful for your concern for my welfare and emotional well being.  But I must protest your prolonged stay in my presence when we both know there is another that you would much more prefer to spend your time with." Ayeka lifted her hand to silence his protest. "On such a romantic and enchanting spring day as this."

"Miss Ayeka, I had no intention of…" Tenchi petered off as Ayeka again raised a hand to silence him.

"Lord Tenchi, have you considered what your request to see me alone at Funaho would imply to the rest of the household?  Including the one that has won your heart?"  Ayeka covered her stumble over the last word with a gentle cough.  Then watched as Tenchi's eyes widened with realization.  "Go, Lord Tenchi.  I have my family and my throne.  I will be fine, but I thank you for you honesty, generosity and kindness.  Now, go."

"Miss Ayeka, you won't leave us will you?"  Tenchi said as he started making his way back towards the house.

"That I do not know, Lord Tenchi.  That I do not know."  Faint traces of pain slipped into Ayeka's voice as her fragile mask began to fracture.  He had to leave soon or he would witness her breakdown.  And without his love, the only thing Ayeka felt she had left was her pride.  "Go, Tenchi, go to your Ryoko."  Ayeka's voice was soft with the faint command.

And after a deep bow of respect befitting Ayeka's station, Tenchi turned and raced to find Washu.  Once certain Tenchi was well out of earshot and line of sight, Ayeka's fortified strength crumbled as she sank to the soft ground below her.  Great torrents of heart-rending tears traced glittering tracks down her cheeks.  Placing her hands on the root before her for support, Ayeka failed to notice the occasional magical light reflect from tree to water, from water to sky.

It wasn't until Ayeka felt the hand of Sasami at her shoulder that she looked up from her tears.  There, standing with tears in her eyes, was Sasami.  Ayeka easily shifted from remorseful, jilted lover to nurturing older sister.  And while helping Sasami over her tears did not remove the pain of loss and heartache, it did distract her from it.  And for now, that was enough.   Thankful for the distraction, Ayeka comforted her sister and then walked the adolescent home to begin dinner and finish the household chores.

**_Every dream I dream is like_**

**_Some kinda rash 'n' reckless scene_**

****

As Tenchi raced back to the house in search of Washu, image after image of Ryoko harming herself before he could explain everything to her flashed into his mind.  Arriving at Washu's lab door, Tenchi flung it open and heedlessly raced in.  

Worry and scientific arrogance had forced Washu to remove her self-imposed ban on all forms of surveillance equipment and telepathic monitoring.  If it hadn't been for that little fact, Washu would have vaporized Tenchi before he entered the doorway.  But part of being a mother was forgiveness.  If her daughter could forgive Tenchi his trespasses, then so could she.  Washu could only smirk her patented "I know everything" smile when a thoroughly out of breath Tenchi came crashing to a halt.

"So Tenchi, just getting around to telling the lucky girl she's won the brass ring?"  Washu cackled un-nervingly at her own obscure joke.

"Huh!?!"  Tenchi was out of breath and perplexed.  _What the hell was Washu talking about now? _

"Nothing, nothing.  Anyway, you want to know where my Little Ryoko is, and I want to know that my little Ryoko is happy.  So here's the deal: you make her happy and I don't turn you into something that Earth scientist can't identify for the next 3 millennia.   Deal?"  Washu said firmly as she held out her hand for his approval.

"Deal?"  Tenchi answered with a question as he shook the proffered hand.

"Say Tenchi?  Since we're going to be related soon, marriage and all that, do you think you could give me that last sample, finally?  At least before Ryoko slaps her stamp on you?"  Washu chuckled maniacally as she began to inch towards Tenchi while wearing a rather revealing, form-fitting nurse's outfit.

Tenchi's mouth flopped open and shut with muted clicks as he gave a rather impressive rendition of a fish out of water.  Finally, after kicking his legs around in an attempt to run, Tenchi's shoes at last gained enough traction so that he tore off back in the same direction he had originally entered.

Ryoko stretched with a yawn as she awoke from her prolonged nap.  Grabbing a hold of Ryo-ohki, Ryoko sat up.  Then, with plans to take to the sky for the comfort that flight afforded her, Ryoko drifted down delicately on an unseen breeze to gently touch the ground and push off with her left foot as she floated back up to the air.  So distracted with thoughts of Tenchi, Ryoko didn't hear the rustling of bramble as Tenchi came racing down through the forest.  

**_To give out such crazy love_**

****

_I have to stop thinking about him.  I'll just drive myself batty.  Shivering at the mention of bats, Ryoko hovered in the air for a moment.  __I'll just…stop thinking about Tenchi.  No more thinking about Tenchi for the rest of the day.  I won't even say his name.  I won't think about his raven's wing black hair.  His sun-kissed, golden skin.  His work- honed and rigorously trained muscles.  His deliciously, sensual and entirely, entrancing chocolate brown eyes; eyes that held the slightest hint of golden fire within their depths._

**_You must be some kind of drug_**

****

Ryoko shook her head trying to erase the images of "Mr. Unmentionable" from her mind.  The look on his face when he was embarrassed and the look on his face when he was happy.  His warming smile and his chilling glare.  Ryoko gave up; there was no way she was ever going to get over him.  She couldn't even go a matter of seconds without thinking about him.  _I could learn to be happy with friendship?  Right Ryo-ohki?_

**_And if my time don't ever come_**

****

Tenchi had been in the middle of a blind run when Washu's face appeared in a screen that took up the entirety of his vision directly before him.  Grabbing his chest and trying not to pass out from shock, Tenchi gave Washu's 2 story high face a scathing glare.  "Do you have any clue where you're going, Tenchi?  Got any clue where she's at?"  At Tenchi's answering, negative head shake, Washu replied, "I thought not.  She's in her tree."  At Tenchi's furrowed brows perplexed look Washu huffed, "You know the one; just past the shrine, within sight line of the training grounds?"

Again Tenchi nodded.  "Good, now get going!  She's thinking about leaving permanently!"

Tenchi's eyes widened to a record size and again he tore off away from Washu.  "Ah, you gotta love young, stupid love.  Don't you, Lord Yosho?"  Washu said to the figure that hovered at the edges of the shadows.  

"Yes, Miss Washu, young love can be inspiring."  Yosho sagely agreed.

"Great, maybe I can get that sample from you that seems so difficult to get from your grandson!"  Washu thought out loud.

::Gulp:: Yosho's eyes mimicked Tenchi's moments before he disappeared in a most unpreistly manner.

Tenchi raced through the forest, hoping desperately to encounter Ryoko before she left.  In his mind he could hear her voice reading off one Dear John letter after another that she would leave behind.  _I have to get to her before she leaves.  I just simply have to!_

Quietly floating down the path towards the training grounds, Ryoko allowed her memory to drift back to a long ago time when Tenchi was still a boy.  Back when her type of overtly candid and flamboyant manner suited him better.  She had loved the boy he had been and she had loved the teen he had become.  But now, she yearned for the man that was Tenchi Masaki.  Boundless and eternal her love would be the one constant in his life whether she was by his side or not.

**_For me you're still the one_**

****

Tenchi was racing as fast as he possibly could.  _I have to get to her.  Have to explain what she means to me.  Finally, he crested the top of the stairs.  Sharply veering directly for the training grounds, Tenchi failed to notice the telltale whisper of sound that heralded Ryoko's presence as she fazed into existence at the edge of the clearing.  _

A moment too late, Tenchi realized his forward momentum was too much to allow him to stop in time.  Carried by inertia, Tenchi's body collided with Ryoko, sending a startled Ryo-ohki into the air and ramming Ryoko into the hard ground beneath his now prone body.  Dizzy and confused, Ryoko opened blurry, golden eyes to see Tenchi's worried eyes searching her face for signs of pain.

As Ryoko's vision cleared and her eyes focused on Tenchi's face, she felt her love for him serge forward.  _One more kiss.  She could turn her back on her love for him, after one last kiss.  Staring intently at Tenchi's lips, Ryoko rose to rest on her left elbow as her right hand snaked behind his neck.  Gentle but demanding pressure at the back of his neck forced Tenchi's head down.  __I know he's not mine… __Not free to do this… __But I must do this… __Just one more time._

**_Damned if I don't, damned if I do_**

****

"I love you…"  Ryoko whispered just before his lips touched hers.  _I won't be able to stay after this.  Not, now.  Now that he knows how I feel.  But I can't leave him either.  Trapped by the hopelessness of the situation, Ryoko lost herself to the kiss._

The quiet confession caused Tenchi's all ready racing pulse to pound in his ears with a possessive need to claim.  Lowering his head to push her back into the ground, Tenchi's tongue softly lapped at her lips for entrance.  And just like in his dreams, her lips parted in a seductive moan as her arms locked behind his head.

His hands chaffed heated caresses across her clothes desperate for the touch of her skin.  Tenchi pressed his body to hers, firmly and solidly pressing her soft curves to his straining body.  As Tenchi ran his hand beneath the hem of her skirt Ryoko moaned into his mouth.  Against his will, coherent thoughts forced their way to the forefront of his mind.  _I have to tell her how I feel.  She'll think that I'm using her if I don't.  Tenchi's mind wrestled with his body for control for a moment.  Finally his mind won and he began to pull away from Ryoko._

**_I gotta get a fix on you_**

_Not yet!  I'm not ready to let go!  NOT YET!  Ryoko's mind and body screamed for Tenchi to continue.  Lost to instinct, Ryoko's right leg snaked around Tenchi's waist while her right hand pulled his hair from the ponytail and locked it in a tight fist at the nape of his neck.  As Ryoko's left arm shot around his waist and her limbs began tightening their hold on Tenchi, the young man felt his resolve wane. _

**_Have you ever needed someone so bad_**

Tenchi felt Ryoko's body issue the forceful demand that his body was only too happy to obey.  Gathering his last coherent thoughts to force the much needed confession through his lips before he gave into his desires, Tenchi closed his eyes and inhaled deeply trying to focus one last time before his resolve completely shattered.  "I love you too, mphmphm." The last word was swallowed by Ryoko's mouth covering his.

**_Have you ever wanted someone, _**

Temporarily stunned by the confession, Ryoko's grip tightened on Tenchi when she realized she must have still been dreaming.  Intent on enjoying her dream to its fullest Ryoko began her assault on his body.  Her hands moved in a blinding flurry as she began to undress him.  This was her dream and in this world, just once, he would be hers.  

**_Did you ever try so hard,_**

Tenchi barely noticed her motions to disrobe him as he set about disrobing her.  He was no longer dreaming, no longer wishing for this moment.  She was here, within his arms kissing him with all the passion he knew she was capable of.  There was no Ayeka to disturb them and nothing to stop them.  Feeling free for once in his life, Tenchi allowed the moment to sweep him away.  His world, his reality ended and began again with the woman he held in his arms.  Everything around him faded from existence as he irrevocably lost himself to her embrace. 

**_Let your world just fall apart_**

Passion beyond any lustful dream, flared wildly out of control as the pair neared consummation.  Lost within her embrace, Tenchi resisted the urge to look up at the nagging unidentifiable sound that persisted at the edge of his consciousness.  At last Tenchi lifted his mouth from Ryoko's and opened his eyes to look down at her.  Ryoko's golden eyes languidly opened to look up at his with a gaze of pure longing.  So entranced by the smoldering gaze was Tenchi, that he attempted to return to his previous actions.  That is, until he heard that sound again.  This time, more coherent and less clouded by passion, Tenchi recognized the sound immediately.

The faint click of a still-photography camera and the quiet whir of a film camera doused Tenchi's desires and grasped his entire attention.  Looking around the perimeter of the area, Tenchi's eyes searched for the reflection of the lenses.  Hearing the quiet rustle of movement off to his left, Tenchi's eyes snapped directly to the source of the sounds.  There behind the bramble and the bushes, hid his father with an armada of various assorted cameras surrounding him.

**_Have you ever needed someone so bad_**

****

Growling protectively over his exposed mate, Tenchi's eyes locked with his father's.  With a glare that promised a fate worst that death, Tenchi quickly tried to dress himself and still the desire addled Ryoko.  Once the pair was clothed, Tenchi kissed Ryoko then stalked over to his father.

"OH, YOU'RE MOTHER IN HEAVEN WOULD BE SO PROUD OF YOU TODAY, MY SON!!"  Noboyuki cried with pride as he grabbed his son in a bear hug definitely meant to suffocate.  "I KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU!!  TODAY MY SON BECOMES A MAN!"  Noboyuki's shouting rant was cut off abruptly by Tenchi's blue-faced, oxygen-deprived struggles.

Finally breaking free from his father's grasp, Tenchi gulped air into his starved lungs before he began to discipline his father.  "DAD!?!  HOW COULD YOU!?!"  Tenchi angrily demanded.

"I had to record this blessed event for posterity, Tenchi.  Washu told me what you had done and what you were planning, so I naturally thought you would want a recording of the wondrous moment when you revealed your heart to your true love.  It was by sheer luck alone that I managed to catch all the juicy action that I did!"

"OH MY SON, I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!  Now you won't make your dear old Dad wait too long for grandchildren?  Now will you?"  Noboyuki said nudging Tenchi in the ribs as he slowly grew redder and redder.

"What I do with Ryoko is none of your business!  Dad, I haven't even told her I love her yet!  I doubt she'll even have anything to do with me after my attack of perverseness.  I don't know what came over me.  I guess I really am your son."  Tenchi sarcastically replied to his father's questions.

"Tenchi, don't give up.  And besides, is it so bad to be me?  I mean, really?  Is it?  I've never loved anyone else since your mother.  Not once has another woman come close.  The Masaki men are faithful men.  Devoted to love beyond the grave.  So I'm a pervert and I tend to embarrass you.  I'm still the same man I was when you were a child and I will always be your father.  Besides, I was starting to wonder about your sexuality, considering you've lived so many years with all these beautiful women and not once did you seem to react like a normal teenage boy.  I'm glad I'll be able to have grandchildren."  

Tenchi could only stare blankly at his father.  _Would it be so bad to be like Dad?  __If Ryoko were to die, how much would that change me?  Shaking the thought from his head, Tenchi returned his gaze to where he had left Ryoko.  And there amongst the bramble and the bush, blushing faintly and hiding her eyes behind her bangs, Ryoko waited for him._

**_And you're the girl I've gotta have_**

****

"Go to her, son.  Tell her everything that you've always dreamt of.  Life is short and time together is precious.  Don't waste a single moment of it.  Seize your time together with her.  You can never be sure how much you have."  Pushing his slack-jawed son in the waiting beauty's direction, Noboyuki's voice trembled with emotion.

Ryoko stood patiently, waiting for Tenchi to arrive at her side.  When she had opened her eyes to look into his, she had been certain it was all a dream.  _Tenchi would never look at me with such longing.  And when Tenchi had forced her to hastily dress and had stalked off to disappear amongst the shrubbery at the opposite edge of the training grounds, Ryoko had felt rejected._

It had been Washu's telepathic reassurances that had made her stay.  Then she had heard Noboyuki's shouts.  Ryoko had burst out into giggles from the scene that easily came to mind.  It wasn't until she heard his explanation that Ryoko froze.  _Tenchi loves me?  It seemed almost too foreign, too strange.   __No, he loves Ayeka.  __Noboyuki must be confused.  And just as doubts began to swarm her, __he appeared.  Emerging from the surrounding forest and stepping over the bramble, Tenchi's gaze focused solely on her.  _

Unable to contain the furious blush that rose to her cheeks, Ryoko bowed her head to hide the longing that she knew was in her eyes.  Finally he stood before her, his feet stepping into her line of sight.  Still unwilling to reveal her emotions to him, Ryoko's head remained stubbornly pointed down.  With trembling fingers, Tenchi's hand caressed her neck and his thumb pushed her chin up.  When at last Ryoko's face was lifted and her hair had fallen away from her eyes, Tenchi began an intent inspection of her features.

**_I gotta have you baby_**

****

Brushing his thumb against the pulse point at the sensitive area where jaw met neck, Tenchi willed her eyes to open.  Slowly Ryoko's eyes fluttered open, revealing her true feelings with unabashed openness.  The pair stood, silently staring at each other; both too afraid of breaking the magic of the moment to speak.

**_It's a game I just can't win_**

****

Ryoko finally broke the silent stalemate, closing her eyes and summoning her courage, Ryoko spoke.  "I love you Tenchi."  The words slipped from her mouth in a weary sigh.

"I love you too, Ryoko."  Tenchi repeated his earlier confession, watching the moment the words register with the intended audience.

Golden eyes flew open and stared with shocked innocence at Tenchi.  _How could he have ever thought he could live his life without ever telling her that?  As a smile more gloriously beautiful then the sky at sunrise spread across Ryoko's face, Tenchi felt his spirits soar._

Tenchi was prepared as the loving smile gave way to Ryoko's seductive smirk.  "Well, since you love me and I love you, could we get back to previously unresolved matters? Then you can tell me how we're going to plan the wedding and after that, we can go tell the family.  And once that's over with, we can get back to important matters again.  You know my Tenchi, your heart was mine the moment you were born."

Tenchi chuckled as her hands faintly tickled his sides on their way to wrap soft arms around his neck.  "I guess you're right Ryoko.  I guess you're right."  Tenchi agreed as the couple fazed from sight.

**_Have you ever needed someone so bad…_**

Official Post-Story Rant:  So did anyone like this one?  My writing style is changing slightly and its getting harder to merge the new with the old in the multi-chapter stories, so bear with me.  I'm working on another action sequence, which is why everything has slowed down.  They're just so hard, even with choreography.  Oh well!  So, my ego needs some serious stroking after my boyfriend read this one.  Brutal doesn't even cover his review of it!  So tell me what you think, I'm listening.  Just me, my sick little twisted troll of a muse and my critical condition ego.  Hope to have another songfic out soon, gonna try and break the standard formula and go with a Ryoko and Ayeka get Tenchi.  Mind you I make no promises.  My muse is very selfish as to who gets Tenchi and in her opinion only Ryoko gets him.  But I'm fighting her and so far I'm winning, so if you like that pairing then pray for me.  If not then pray for the muse.  Either way its all good.  Anyhoo this rant is getting pretty long so gotta go.  Bye ya'll.


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